SUKKUR: Two labourers sustained fatal burns when sparks from a falling electricity cable triggered a big fire in the sugar cane field of Rajanpur village near Ubauro town of Ghotki district late on Saturday evening.

The victims, Darshan Lal and Balam Jee, were working on the field when the high-voltage cable fell on the ground and caused a flurry of sparks. The cane crop caught fire, which swiftly spread and engulfed a vast area. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and controlled it after three hours of struggle.

MPA Sheharyar Shar, Ghotki Deputy Commissioner Saleemullah Odho and Additional Deputy Commissioner Khalid Saleem visited the bereaved families and offered their condolences over the death of their members. The MNA assured them that the power utility concerned would be held accountable for the loss of the two lives and crop.

MIRPURKHAS: Three thatched houses were gutted when fire broke out in one of them and engulfed the other ones in Faiz Mohammed Leghari village, near toll plaza, here on Sunday.

Officials at the Taluka police station said that a woman was preparing breakfast when her clothes and other articles around her caught fire. It spread to the entire house and engulfed the two adjacent ones reducing all of them to ashes.

All household articles and other belongings of the affected families were gutted before fire-fighters reached the village and extinguished the fire in a two-hour struggle.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2019